I fix my gaze on the pew, suffocating. I hear the eulogies:

“A man of impeccable character.”
“My hero.”
“A good man.”

The judge addresses the man directly.

“I accept your guilty plea and sentence you to prison.”

After 30 years, I raise my head and breathe. I am safe.

Dani Bostick works as a speaker and psychotherapist and lives as a survivor.